


Strings

by cecania



Series: The Misadventures of Eerie-Dark Years [4]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: F/M, inktober for writiers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-15
Updated: 2017-10-15
Packaged: 2019-01-17 12:14:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12365568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cecania/pseuds/cecania
Summary: Little things can connect a family no matter how far apart they are.(Written for Inktober for writers)





	Strings

 

            Hearing more noise than she expected coming from the living room, Eyra listened for a moment, trying to figure out what was happening. But she couldn’t hear actual words and left the bedroom to get closer. The amount of squawking she could hear wasn’t going to end well, no matter what conversation was happening.

            “Don’t you want to go see Nanna?” Gladio was asking as she came into the living room.

            “No!” Laurel said, stomping her little foot.

            Eyra’s brows went up immediately. That wasn’t normal behaviour at all. She caught Gladio’s eye when he leaned back from their daughter with a sigh. She nodded when he raised his brows, more than willing to take over and see what was going on.

            Rising from his crouch, he held out the small pair of shoes he’d been attempting to get on Laurel’s feet and leaned down for a kiss. “It started as soon as you left the room,” he murmured against her.

            Her heart lurched as she realised what was going on. “I’ve got it,” she said quietly, taking the shoes and giving him a gentle push.

            “I’ll get Vi,” Gladio said, kissing her again before leaving.

            Her gaze immediately moved to the little girl leaning back against the couch now, arms crossed and little face pushed out in a pout. Walking over, Eyra sat down in front of her and put the shoes down. “Do you want to talk about what’s making you upset?” she asked quietly.

            Laurel shook her head. “No!”

            “Can I talk about what’s making me upset?”

            Big brown eyes blinked up at her. “Mama’s upset?”

            “Of course I am. My little girl is mad and won’t talk to me. I haven’t seen her much lately because I had to stay in the hospital and I want to spend time with her. But she’s upset and won’t tell me why.”

            She watched as Laurel thought about that before looking down at her feet. “Don’t wanna go to Nanna’s,” she muttered.

            “Why not, Laurel?” Eyra asked.

            “Mama gonna leave again!”

            She’d been worried about this, had been warned by the hospital staff that Laurel was likely to act out because of her stay in the hospital. It hadn’t been overly long but it had been the longest she’d been away from the three year old so far in her short life. “I’m not going anywhere, Laurel. The baby’s home now and we’re both okay. You’re just going to visit Nanna.”

            “No!”

            Sitting back on her heels, Eerie studied her toddler. Normally she loved visiting the family, practically racing out of the house if she found out her cousins were involved in any way. But she’d stayed close to her since she’d come home from the hospital two weeks ago. “Come here, sweetheart,” she said quietly, holding out her arms.

            Laurel launched herself into her, wrapping around her as soon as she was close enough.

            Rubbing her back, she hummed quietly as she rocked them in place. “You know I’m not going to ever leave you, right?” she asked after a moment.

            Little arms tightened around her neck. “Mama did because of Vi.”

            Oh, she needed to head that off right now. “No, I had to stay in the hospital because I got sick and having a baby is hard work. Not because your sister made me.” It hadn’t helped matters any that Laurel had been too young to bring to the hospital so she hadn’t been able to see mother or the new baby for longer than they’d expected. “I had to stay there for a little while when you were born too. It’s part of having a baby.”

            Laurel sniffed and shook her head.

            “Violet loves you very much, Laurel,” Eyra murmured. “Don’t you love her?”

            “No.”

            “Laurel,” she said firmly.

            The toddler squirmed a little. “She’s cute,” she admitted, “and she gave me a nice toy.”

            Sighing, Eerie kissed the top of Laurel’s head and gently pulled her back. “Listen to me, sweetheart,” she said, waiting for her to look at her. “We’re a family and we all love each other, even when we aren’t right next to each other. We’re all connected.”

            “With what?”

            Eyra blinked, not expecting the question. “Ah, string, sweetheart. It ties all of us together. You, me, Daddy and baby Vi.”

            “Nanna?”

            “Of course. Uncle Nyx and Auntie Liv too.”

            “Kol? Lena? Lux?”

            She laughed quietly, nodding. “And Uncles Prompto, Ignis, and Libertus. Aunties Iris, Cindy, and Dusty. We’re all a big family and the string ties all of our hearts together.”

            Laurel’s face scrunched.

            “It doesn’t matter if we’re not always together, we’re still family aren’t we?” Eerie asked, rubbing her arms. “You still want to be family don’t you?”

            “Yeah!” She faltered, looking away. “But…if Mama goes away….”

            Scooping Laurel into her arms again, Eyra pushed to her feet. Her body throbbed in response but she ignored it for now. Beyond groceries and visiting her mom, they didn’t have anything planned today so she could take it easy later.

            “Mama?”

            She carried Laurel down to her bedroom, startling Gladio as they came in.

            “Babe?” he asked.

            She shooed him off, watching him settle with the still sleeping baby in his arms. “We need to find some string,” she told him, shifting Laurel onto her hip and starting to open drawers.

            “String?”

            “Cause it ties our hearts, Daddy!”

            “Uh huh,” he said slowly and Eerie bit down on her smile. She’d explain it later to him but if Laurel wasn’t going to be in a mood anymore he could suffer a little confusion for a while longer.

            Finding the box she was looking for, she pulled it out to set it on top of the dresser. “Do you know what these are for, sweetheart?” she asked as she opened it.

            “Mama’s braids!” she said excitedly when she looked.

            “And mama’s braids are for her family,” she said, carefully sorting through the beads and colours inside. “They keep my family close to me even if I’m not with them.”

            Big eyes were staring at her as she set Laurel down on the chair at her vanity. “Mama?”

            “Stay still, sweetheart,” she murmured, carefully sectioning a part of hair near her ear.

            “Isn’t she still a little young for that?” Gladio asked from the other side of the room.

            “You’re never too young to be close to your family,” she tossed back, working the golden brown and purple strings into Laurel’s hair as she braided it.

            He chuckled. “Alright fine.”

            He was right though, normally the braids were put in when children were a bit older but it didn’t make a huge difference. Snagging the box, she put it on the vanity in front of Laurel. “Pick a bead, sweetheart.”

            Laurel squealed a little bit, leaning over to look.

            Gently holding onto the braid, Eerie glanced over at Gladio. He was still sitting in the rocking chair, watching the pair of them with a smile. He didn’t wear his braids often and she didn’t mind but she was going to put them in at some point today. Blowing him a kiss, she melted when his smile widened and he nodded as if he knew what she was thinking of.

            After five years of marriage and two children, she wouldn’t be surprised if he did but Laurel held up a small silver bead in her fist and she focused back on the task at hand.


End file.
